New York Times hits Clinton's 'untruthful claims' on emails

The New York Times said that Hillary Clinton is breeding distrust with voters, even as her opponent Donald Trump has seen his overall standing in national and state-level polls rapidly decline. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The liberal New York Times editorial board said Hillary Clinton essentially lied last week when she claimed she had been forthcoming with the public about sending classified information over her private email server.

In an editorial printed Friday, the Times said that Clinton is breeding distrust with voters, who polls show are already skeptical of her level of honesty, even as her opponent Donald Trump has seen his overall standing in national and state-level polls rapidly decline.

"So where does this leave Mrs. Clinton?" the paper said. "It does not give her the luxury of sitting back and hoping Mr. Trump will implode, but it does present opportunities — to lure wavering Republicans and independents, not merely by stoking outrage at his statements, but by addressing in policy terms the economic anxiety and fear that underlie Mr. Trump's appeal, as well as lingering distrust of her. Instead, she played into that distrust this week by repeatedly asserting untruthful claims about her careless handling of government emails."

It was in a Fox News interview last Sunday that the Democratic nominee was asked to respond to FBI Director James Comey, who recently said that while Clinton was secretary of state, she mishandled government information on a private email server. She was also asked to respond to Comey's testimony in a congressional hearing, wherein he disputed much of what Clinton had said publicly in her defense of using the server.

"Director Comey said my answers were truthful, and what I've said is consistent with what I have told the American people: that there were decisions discussed and made to classify retroactively certain of the emails," said Clinton.

Fact checkers found Clinton's assertion to be inaccurate. The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler awarded it "four Pinocchios," the highest rating for an inaccurate claim.